'Massive oil stockpiles and a shift to electric vehicles help insulate the economy from supply disruptions in the Mideast.
BEIJING—The turmoil in the global energy market from war in the Middle East is exactly the sort of emergency scenario that China has long been preparing for.
Worried that conflict in the region could wreak havoc on its economy by cutting off the supply of oil, Beijing has been spending lavishly to limit how much it needs to import, while building up large stockpiles and diversifying where it gets its energy from.
The Iran war has brought many of those fears to fruition, serving as the biggest test yet of China’s bid to fortify its economy against what it views as reckless behavior by the U.S.
So far, Beijing is weathering the storm.
Iran has sought to effectively cut off energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway linking producers such as Saudi Arabia to oil-importing nations in Asia and beyond. While China is the world’s largest importer of oil in terms of total barrels, it is less dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for energy than other economies such as Japan and South Korea.'
WSJ
China’s strategic interests, especially around Taiwan, make this situation even more complex. With the U.S. already acting, the global balance will depend on how China chooses to respond